Written Answers Wednesday 30 September 2009

Scottish Executive

Crime

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been issued with fines for vandalism in each year since 2006-07, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following table. The source of this information is the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database, which is derived from data held on the Criminal History System. Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options for dealing with an individual who has been charged with an offence. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, diversion to social work, fiscal fines and fixed penalty notices. However, these alternatives to court prosecution are not currently held on the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database and are not included in the following data provided.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Vandalism1 where the Main Penalty was a Court Fine, by Local Authority Area2, 2006-07 to 2007-08

  

 Local Authority
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Aberdeen City
 120
 92


 Aberdeenshire
 101
 102


 Angus
 59
 52


 Argyll and Bute
 13
 26


 Clackmannanshire
 68
 56


 Dumfries and Galloway
 95
 99


 Dundee City
 71
 69


 East Ayrshire
 100
 94


 East Dunbartonshire
 0
 0


 East Lothian
 50
 36


 East Renfrewshire
 3
 11


 Edinburgh, City of
 135
 150


 Eilean Siar
 16
 17


 Falkirk
 122
 132


 Fife
 236
 228


 Glasgow City
 299
 281


 Highland
 149
 154


 Inverclyde
 11
 21


 Midlothian
 36
 40


 Moray
 56
 54


 North Ayrshire
 52
 57


 North Lanarkshire
 103
 77


 Orkney Islands
 2
 2


 Perth and Kinross
 44
 50


 Renfrewshire
 54
 65


 Scottish Borders
 116
 90


 Shetland Islands
 6
 5


 South Ayrshire
 86
 58


 South Lanarkshire
 98
 116


 Stirling
 63
 64


 West Dunbartonshire
 41
 38


 West Lothian
 55
 55


 Scotland
 2,460
 2,391



  Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Service.

  Notes:

  1. Where the main offence under the Scottish Government Justice Department Crime Codes classification is vandalism, malicious damage and malicious mischief.

  2. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area and some local authority areas do not contain a sheriff court.

Crime

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18076 by Kenny MacAskill on 26 November 2008, what progress has been made with the development of the Scottish Crime Campus and when it expects the new facility to be (a) completed and (b) fully operational.

Kenny MacAskill: Good progress is being made. A pre-enabling works contract was completed in July 2009. This involved the removal of obstructions together with existing foundations from the previous steelworks that occupied the site. The design team has completed the detailed design and is now developing the final design proposals. We will shortly be advertising the first of three construction packages with the works programmed to start in April 2010. Subject to contract, we expect the building to be completed during 2012. Occupation will be on a phased basis to meet the needs of the participating agencies.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-residential places there are for community-based (a) alcohol and (b) drug rehabilitation, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: Information on the number of non-residential places for community-based alcohol and drug rehabilitation is not held centrally. However, information from the national Directory of Drug Services, maintained by the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), showed that 215 providers offered non-residential community-based services.

  Non-residential community-based services include a wide range of interventions that have the purpose of tackling the wider social and psychological problems experienced by clients (such as housing, employment/training/education, relationship/family problems, debt, benefits and relapse prevention).

  The SDF Directory is available online at http://www.scottishdrugservices.com/sdd/hompage.htm.

Education

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Active Schools there are, broken down by local authority.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are classed as Active Schools.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools have become Active Schools in each year since the programme’s launch in 2004, broken down by local authority.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. I have therefore asked the chief executive of sportscotland to write to the member providing the detailed operational information requested.

Education

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much sportscotland has invested in the Active Schools programme in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The information requested has been published by sportscotland for the four years 2004-05 to 2007-08 and can be accessed below:

  http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/ChannelNavigation/Resources/TopicNavigation/Collections/Annual+Reports.htm.

Efficient Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what non-departmental public bodies have been wound up since May 2008 and what the estimated saving is in each case.

John Swinney: Information about public bodies which have been wound up or merged as part of the government’s on-going Simplification Programme is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/Simplification-Tracker.

  Estimated savings as a result of these changes are set out in the Simplification and Improvement Update Document published in May 2009 available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/News.

Efficient Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives were undertaken by it and its agencies in 2008-09 to generate efficiency savings and what the estimated savings are.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to his question S3W-24040 on 27 May 2009. As I said in my answer to that question, the 2008-09 Outturn Report is scheduled to be published in October and will, like previous reports, be placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre.

  I also refer the member to the answer to his question S3W-21400 on 4 March 2009 in which I advised that the 2008-11 programme’s Efficiency Delivery Plans are also placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 45688). The next update will be issued with the 2008-09 Outturn Report and will be available on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/PublicServiceReform/efficientgovernment/EG08-11.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Electricity Act 1989

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications received since May 2007 it is considering under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for (a) new wind energy developments and (b) extensions to existing wind energy developments.

Jim Mather: Since May 2007, the Scottish Government has received (a) seven applications for new wind energy developments and (b) seven applications for extensions to existing wind energy developments – four of which have been determined.

Energy Efficiency

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether every household in the pilot areas for the Home Insulation Scheme will (a) be contacted by post, (b) receive a visit from a home energy adviser, (c) be offered a free home energy audit and (d) be offered other advice and services relating to energy efficiency.

Alex Neil: The Energy Saving Trust, as managing agent, will be responsible for marketing the scheme to every household in Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) areas. This will include direct mailings to every household, as well as area-focussed marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the scheme and its benefits. HIS assessors will then visit every household, with the exception of those who have already responded to the direct mailing or the marketing campaign, making three attempts to contact each household. Through a combination of these measures, every household will be offered free energy audits and energy advice, and also be offered access to energy efficiency measures and more specialised advice as appropriate to their needs and circumstances.

Enterprise

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what independent mechanisms are in place to judge the effectiveness of its restructuring of the enterprise network.

Jim Mather: The enterprise network reforms were intended to allow Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to focus on activities that should have the greatest economic impact and will therefore enable both bodies to maximise their contribution to sustainable economic growth. They are doing so in the context of the Government Economic Strategy which sets out a clear purpose for both the government and its public bodies and provides a basis for close collaborative working towards that purpose. This context, focusing the public sector collaboratively on achieving increased sustainable growth, is very different to the preceding arrangements under which SE and HIE operated.

  Both Scottish Enterprise’s and Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operations will be subject to independent review by Audit Scotland, as well as by the Scottish Government under the terms of their respective management statements.

  Furthermore, it will be an operational matter for SE and HIE to consider how best to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness, working within the National Performance Framework, with which each organisation maximises its contribution to increased sustainable growth. I have, therefore, written to SE’s Chief Executive, Jack Perry, and HIE’s Acting Chief Executive, Sandy Brady asking them to respond to you directly on this issue.

European Finance

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it has sought from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of changing global trade patterns to find another job as quickly as possible.

Fiona Hyslop: Applications for funding from the European Globalisation Fund can only be made by member states and as such this is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figure of a £496 million reduction in the planned departmental expenditure limit budget for 2010-11 quoted by ministers includes the pre-Budget report consequentials of £5.2 million.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is included in the £496 million reduction in the planned departmental expenditure limit budget for 2010-11 apart from the £391.7 million in efficiency savings, £128.6 million reduction in NHS capital spend and the budget consequentials of £24.7 million.

John Swinney: The £496 million reduction is made up by the three items included in the question.

Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) provisional and (b) actual budget outturns were for the departmental expenditure limit for (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) provisional and (b) actual budget outturns were for the budget as a whole, including annual managed expenditure, for (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09.

John Swinney: The relevant provisional and final budget outturns are shown in the following table:

  

 2006-07
Provisional (£000)
Final (£000)


 Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL)
 25,365
 25,389


 Annual Managed Expenditure (AME)
 4,448
 4,072


 
 29,813
 29,461


 2007-08
 
 


 DEL
 27,368
 27,368


 AME
 5,191
 4,739


 
 32,558
 32,107


 2008-09
 
 


 DEL
 27,944
 N/A1


 AME
 5,214
 N/A1


 
 33,159
 N/A1



  Note: 1. Final figures will be published by HM Treasury in Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) in July 2010.

Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report actual rather than provisional outturn for comparative purposes, as outlined in paragraph 6 of its report, Provisional Outturn and End Year Flexibility 2004-05 .

John Swinney: Table 4 in the annex to the Draft Budget 2010-11 compares actual outturn for previous years. The 2008-09 figures are provisional at the time of publication, but will be updated to show final outturn in next year’s Draft Budget.

Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, when reporting financial outturn, whether it will distinguish between government and non-departmental public body spend and provide explanations for any underspend, as has been the case with previous reporting.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government provides explanations for any underspend in our consolidated accounts. Non-departmental public bodies will do likewise in their own accounts.

Finance

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the "cuts imposed by the Chancellor" referred to on page 79 of Scottish Budget: Draft Budget 2010-11 .

John Swinney: The "cuts imposed by the Chancellor" referred to in the Draft Budget are the Scottish Government’s Barnet share, amounting to £392 million, of the £5 billion savings announced by the Chancellor in the Budget on 22 April 2009, and the £1.3 billion cut to the Department of Health Capital baseline which resulted in a reduction in the Scottish Government’s capital budget of £129 million.

Fuel Poverty

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the spend was on the Energy Assistance Package during April to July 2009.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26882 on 11 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Fuel Poverty

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders who benefited from Stage Three of the Energy Assistance Package (EAP) have then had applications for EAP refused.

Alex Neil: All householders benefiting from Stage Three of the Energy Assistance Package have had their applications accepted.

Further and Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legislative consequence would be of replacing discretionary childcare funds with a centralised, demand-led childcare fund for (a) higher education students, (b) further education students and (c) further and higher education students.

Fiona Hyslop: The discretionary funds for both higher and further education are a form of financial assistance paid under the Education (Access Funds) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/1534). These funds are currently administered in accordance with the Regulations by ministerial determination.

  The legislative consequences of replacing discretionary childcare funds with a centralised, demand-led childcare fund would depend on the nature of the proposed changes. If the proposed changes were significant then this may require an amendment to the Regulations. However, if the changes were not significant then an amendment to the Regulations might not be necessary.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive where the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry will be held.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Team is based in offices at Lothian Chambers, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.

  It will be for the inquiry to decide on a suitable venue for public hearings and evidence sessions.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the timescale for completion of the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry will be flexible.

Nicola Sturgeon: In accordance with the terms of reference, I expect the inquiry to complete its work within one year of its set up date.

  However, the inquiry chairman may seek an extension, if he considers it necessary. Any such request will be given due consideration.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the responses to the consultation on the proposed Healthcare Environment Inspectorate, rather than a summary of responses.

Nicola Sturgeon: The responses, minus any personal references to respondents, will be published on the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland website as soon as possible.

Health and Safety

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in response to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents report on Watersports Safety Abroad.

Shona Robison: As the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) report and subsequent fact sheet is designed to advise holidaymakers in choosing watersports operators while abroad, it is therefore not for the Scottish Government to respond to this specific report. However, the Scottish Government supports RoSPA’s work in highlighting the risks associated with watersports activities.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been incidents or outbreaks of Clostridium difficile in care homes that have been investigated by the Care Commission.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Commission is responsible for ensuring that care homes meet the legislative requirement to have appropriate procedures for the control of infections. Care homes are required to notify the commission of any outbreaks of infectious diseases that occur, and the commission will follow up on cleanliness, hygiene and infection control measures in care homes if it has concerns.

  How that follow-up is carried out, and the number of times the commission has followed up concerns about infection control, are operational matters for the Care Commission. Details can be obtained from the Chief Executive:

  Mrs Jacquie Roberts, Chief Executive, Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY, telephone: 0845 603 0890, email:

  Jacquie.roberts@carecommission.com.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether antimicrobial prescribing policies apply to care homes.

Nicola Sturgeon: All persons authorised to prescribe antimicrobial agents in healthcare settings, including care homes, are required to adhere to local antimicrobial prescribing policy.

Local Government Concordat

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on each of the 45 indicators included in Annex A of the concordat between it and COSLA, signed on 14 November 2007.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has adopted an outcome based approach to performance as set out in the National Performance Framework. Scotland’s progress is reported on a continual basis through our open and transparent Scotland Performs website www.scotlandperforms.com .

Local Government Finance

Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was made available on a per capita basis to each local authority in 2009-10, broken down by amount.

John Swinney: The 2009-10 funding per capita information requested is provided in the following table:

  

 Local Authority
 Funding Per Capita (£)


 Aberdeen City
 1,876


 Aberdeenshire
 1,946


 Angus
 2,125


 Argyll and Bute
 2,755


 Clackmannanshire
 2,145


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2,321


 Dundee City
 2,427


 East Ayrshire
 2,157


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,961


 East Lothian
 2,007


 East Renfrewshire
 2,125


 Edinburgh (City of)
 1,994


 Eilean Siar
 4,769


 Falkirk
 2,055


 Fife
 2,032


 Glasgow City
 2,871


 Highland
 2,477


 Inverclyde
 2,431


 Midlothian
 2,186


 Moray
 2,307


 North Ayrshire
 2,251


 North Lanarkshire
 2,180


 Orkney Islands
 4,032


 Perth and Kinross
 1,973


 Renfrewshire
 2,185


 Scottish Borders
 2,233


 Shetland Islands
 4,821


 South Ayrshire
 2,062


 South Lanarkshire
 2,068


 Stirling
 2,204


 West Dunbartonshire
 2,533


 West Lothian
 2,001


 Scotland
 2,254

NHS Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the end-year flexibility drawn down for 2010-11 with HM Treasury’s agreement has been allocated as part of the Scottish Budget Spending Review 2007 and how much remains to be allocated.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the actual underspend for 2008-09 combined with the unallocated end-year flexibility from previous years is sufficient to fully cover the £128.6 million reduction in NHS capital spend for 2010-11.

John Swinney: Chapter one of the Spending Review 2007 document published in November 2007 set out the use of the £874 million of end-year flexibility (EYF) across the three years as £300/400/174 million. The last published EYF balance in July 2009 was £670 million which will reduce by the agreed drawdown of £400 million and £174 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively to leave a balance of £96 million. HM Treasury has agreed that this balance and any subsequent EYF generated in 2009-10 can be drawn down to offset the reduction of £128.6 million in the Scottish Government’s capital budget in 2010-11.

Non-Domestic Rates

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have properties in Scotland with a combined rateable value of (a) up to £8,000, (b) from £8,001 to £10,000 and (c) from £10,001 to £15,000, broken down by local authority area.

John Swinney: Information on the number and combined rateable value of businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However, the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties for each of the local authority areas is shown in the following table:

  Analysis of The Number of Business Properties in Scotland of Which the Rateable Value is £15,000 or Less (Excluding Zero-rated Subjects)

  

 Local Authority
 Number of Business Properties by Rateable Value


 Less than £8,000
£8,001 to £10,000
£10,001 to £15,000
 Total up to £15,000


 Aberdeen City
 3,274
 540
 839
 4,653


 Aberdeenshire
 6,955
 490
 677
 8,122


 Angus
 3,232
 202
 319
 3,753


 Argyll and Bute
 6,031
 241
 339
 6,611


 Clackmannanshire
 995
 77
 126
 1,198


 Dumfries and Galloway
 6,389
 293
 438
 7,120


 Dundee City
 2,921
 335
 561
 3,817


 East Ayrshire
 2,362
 231
 353
 2,946


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,134
 202
 265
 1,601


 East Lothian
 2,110
 182
 246
 2,538


 East Renfrewshire
 840
 130
 222
 1,192


 Edinburgh, City of
 8,936
 1,228
 1,945
 12,109


 Eilean Siar
 1,760
 61
 98
 1,919


 Falkirk
 2,680
 281
 393
 3,355


 Fife
 7,347
 665
 1,085
 9,097


 Glasgow City
 11,811
 1,632
 2,366
 15,809


 Highland
 12,515
 618
 913
 14,046


 Inverclyde
 1,302
 172
 227
 1,701


 Midlothian
 1,605
 177
 262
 2,044


 Moray
 3,082
 195
 287
 3,564


 North Ayrshire
 3,094
 264
 400
 3,758


 North Lanarkshire
 4,619
 643
 914
 6,176


 Orkney Islands
 1,621
 70
 82
 1,733


 Perth and Kinross
 5,232
 370
 531
 6,133


 Renfrewshire
 3,359
 396
 597
 4,352


 Scottish Borders
 5,134
 231
 405
 5,770


 Shetland Islands
 1,473
 67
 107
 1,647


 South Ayrshire
 2,797
 276
 445
 3,518


 South Lanarkshire
 4,963
 631
 924
 6,518


 Stirling
 2,890
 252
 392
 3,534


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,492
 178
 252
 1,922


 West Lothian
 2,678
 344
 522
 3,544


 Scotland
 126,633
 11,675
 17,532
 155,840



  Source: Scottish Assessors Portal as at 9 August 2009.

  Notes:

  1. The number of businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property.

  2. The properties shown below may be eligible for, or in receipt of, a number of different reliefs including Small Business Bonus Scheme, Empty Property, Rural or Charitable relief, or may be part of a larger chain or exempt from rates entirely.

Nuclear Power

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21390 by Jim Mather on 10 March 2009, whether it has made representations to the UK Government in relation to calls for a public inquiry into the request for justification of proposed new nuclear reactors.

Jim Mather: Our position on new nuclear power in Scotland remains clear. We have not made representations to the UK Government in relation to calls for a public inquiry into the justification process.

Nuclear Power

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports calls for the UK Government to hold a public inquiry into the request for justification of proposed new nuclear reactors.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has made clear our policy of no new nuclear power stations in Scotland. It is not our policy to intervene in planning matters in England and Wales, but if there is to be a public inquiry its remit should exclude any possibility of siting new nuclear stations in Scotland.

Nuclear Power

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it appropriate that the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to appoint himself as the justifying authority in relation to the justification process for new nuclear reactors.

Jim Mather: As long as the justification process is solely related to the siting of new nuclear power stations south of the border, that is a matter for the UK Government.

Procurement

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance in respect of the adjudication or litigation record of potential contractors or their parent companies is provided by Procurement Scotland to local authorities and other organisations considering bids for public contracts.

John Swinney: Procurement Scotland does not provide guidance on this matter to local authorities and other organisations considering bids for public contracts. The Scottish Government’s Procurement Directorate has, however, published a standard Pre-Qualification Questionnaire which requires those wishing to tender for contracts to disclose whether they or any relevant directors, partners or employees have been convicted of certain criminal offences or have committed acts of grave misconduct in the course of their business or profession.

Procurement

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the adjudication or litigation record of a contractor or its parent company to be a material factor in assessing bids for public contracts.

John Swinney: Companies wishing to tender for Scottish Government contracts are, in general, required to provide evidence of their ability to perform the contract in question, including details of similar contracts undertaken and satisfactory references. A company’s adjudication and litigation record may be a material factor where it impacts on the company’s ability to provide satisfactory references.

Public Sector

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what trading operations are carried out by it and its agencies and what the profit or loss was in each such case in 2008-09.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government and its executive agencies may charge for certain services in accordance with the Scottish Public Financial Manual (available at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm ) on the basis that this "helps to avoid unnecessary public expenditure, eliminate hidden subsidies and promote competition. Charging also provides an incentive to use goods and services economically, efficiently and effectively."

  The annual Budget Act sets out the categories of income or "accruing resources" which may be used by the Scottish Administration for the purposes approved by the Scottish Parliament. The annual accounts report against these.

  The Scottish Government Consolidated accounts for 2008-09 accounts are due to be published on 29 September 2009 and will be found on the publication section of the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk. These accounts contain the consolidated outturn statement information for the Scottish Government which includes the Scottish Government’s executive agencies.

  Further detailed information on the activities of executive agencies, including in respect of any activities of a trading nature, can be found within their published agency accounts for 2008-09 which should be available, or should shortly be available, on their individual websites as follows:

  Historic Scotland (www.historic-scotland.gov.uk)

  Scottish Public Pensions Agency (www.sppa.gov.uk)

  Scottish Housing Regulator (www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk)

  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (www.hmie.gov.uk)

  Social Work Inspection Agency (www.swia.gov.uk)

  Student Awards Agency for Scotland (www.student-support-saas.gov.uk)

  Scottish Prison Service (www.sps.gov.uk)

  Scottish Court Service (www.scotcourts.gov.uk)

  Accountant in Bankruptcy (www.aib.gov.uk)

  Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (www.sfpa.gov.uk)

  Fisheries Research Services (www.marlab.ac.uk)

  Transport Scotland (www.transportscotland.gov.uk).

Scottish Futures Trust

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made to consultants used by the Scottish Futures Trust as of 1 September 2009, broken down by (a) consultant, (b) amount paid and (c) date of payment.

John Swinney: I have asked Barry White, Chief Executive of the Scottish Futures Trust to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information has been provided in the following table. All payments exclude VAT.

  

 Consultant
 Amount Paid
 Date of Payment


 Hays Executive Recruitment
£23,500 
 4 June 2009 


 Hays Executive Recruitment
£23,500 
 1 August 2009


 Mott MacDonald
£11,966.40 
 23 July 2009


 Pinsent Masons
£19,484.66 
 1 August 2009


 Partnerships UK
£11,715 
 24 July 2009


 Partnerships UK
£10,118 
 24 July 2009


 Shepherd and Wedderburn
£3174.75 
 6 July 2009



  For costs associated with both Scottish Futures Trust advertising and its dedicated website, I refer the member to the question S3W-25138 answered on 18 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Scottish Futures Trust

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25603 by John Swinney on 18 September 2009, on what date each consultant was awarded the contract to provide services to the Scottish Futures Trust.

John Swinney: I have asked Barry White, Chief Executive of the Scottish Futures Trust to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information has been provided in the following table:

  

 Consultant
 Contract Award Date


 Hays Executive Recruitment
 May 2009


 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
 March 2009


 Mott MacDonald
 May 2009


 Pinsent Masons
 November 2008


 Partnerships UK
 Call offs from framework contract


 Shepherd and Wedderburn
 June 2009

Scottish Government Finance

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total PFI/PPP payments have been in each year since 2006-07 and will be for the duration of the repayment shedules.

John Swinney: The estimated total annual PFI/PPP unitary payments from 2006-07 onwards is provided in the following table.

  

 Year
 (£ Million)


 2006-07
 439


 2007-08
 520


 2008-09
 613


 2009-10
 723


 2010-11
 820


 2011-12
 876


 2012-13
 919


 2013-14
 932


 2014-15
 956


 2015-16
 987


 2016-17
 1,000


 2017-18
 1,023


 2018-19
 1,042


 2019-20
 1,054


 2020-21
 1,071


 2021-22
 1,075


 2022-23
 1,077


 2023-24
 1,091


 2024-25
 1,097


 2025-26
 1,082


 2026-27
 1,061


 2027-28
 1,026


 2028-29
 1,015


 2029-30
 903


 2030-31
 797


 2031-32
 773


 2032-33
 739


 2033-34
 739


 2034-35
 705


 2035-36
 675


 2036-37
 665


 2037-38
 601


 2038-39
 505


 2039-40
 316


 2040-41
 202


 2041-42
 138

Scottish Government Funding

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will give to Perthshire golf clubs to capitalise on the Ryder Cup coming to Gleneagles in 2014.

Shona Robison: All Scottish Government funding for the development of sport is routed through sportscotland.

  Sportscotland operates a number of funding programmes, such as Awards for All and the Sports Facilities Fund, to which individual golf clubs are eligible to apply.

Supermarkets

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or its agencies, has or will undertake a feasibility study into the impact on local businesses of a proposed new supermarket in Perth.

Jim Mather: No feasibility study has been undertaken, however, in the event of a planning application being made, the impact of a supermarket on existing shops would be one of a number of considerations taken into account by the planning authority in reaching a decision.

Telecommunications

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the telephone exchanges in the Scottish Borders that are at full capacity for broadband.

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to increase the broadband capacity of telephone exchanges in the Scottish Borders.

Jim Mather: BT has confirmed that, as of 3 September 2009, the telephone exchanges in the Scottish Borders which are at full capacity for broadband are Abbey St Bathans, Borthwickbrae and Grantshouse.

  The Scottish Government announced on 23 September 2009 that it has agreed with BT a programme of upgrade work for exchanges to resolve the capacity issues currently being experienced. Please refer to our news release at the following website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/09/23114104.